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Cameroon's Rainforest

By Steve Nix, About.com

Cameroon ForestsFAO

Location:

Cameroon is in Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.

The Resource:

"Low- and medium-altitude closed evergreen rainforests can be divided into two broad categories: the Biafran forest, forming an arc around the Bay of Biafra, and the Congolian forest further inland. Fortunately Cameroon's forest is in an economically stable part of the West Africa and is one of the largest." - FAO

Cause of Problem:

Cameroon's north is primarily deforested lands that are becoming desert. The Southern forest is being deforested from logging, fuelwood collection, and subsistence farming.

Other Envirnmental Issues:

"water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing." - CIA

Rhett A. Butler's Assessment :

"Cameroon once had one of the strongest economies of sub-Sahara Africa, but this had been clobbered by the fall in oil, coffee, and cocoa prices, and the devaluation of the CFA Franc which pushed many rural people to clear additional forest for crop production. In addition, Cameroon does not have an effective forest conservation program." Read More

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